Where do creative minds go after the drama festivals?

By Tom Odhiambo

The annual Kenya National Schools and Colleges Drama Festival is here with us. Following its rotational policy, the event will be staged at Kaaga Girls High School in Meru, between March 31 and April 7.

Anybody who has participated in or attended this festival will agree there is probably no other event where the country’s best drama talents are on display.

This is the show to attend if you want to savour what Kenya can offer in theatre production.

I believe the young students who perform and the teachers who guide them deserve better appreciation than the occasional publicity on television and the ritual performance for the Head of State.

Why do they need more attention? First, the annual competition maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some. Here is where the future thespians, directors and producers can be found.

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Any serious theatre company or producer looking for talent in its formative stage would best be informed to hunt in the festival’s grounds. Otherwise, we will simply continue to waste generations of otherwise brilliant actors.

Most of the dramatists are never heard of beyond the festivals. [PHOTO: File]

In some schools, the management may refuse to support the drama club and some students may lose class time, as punishment by teachers who think dedicating time to drama is a waste.

Topical issues

Third, the finals are actually a dramatisation of the topical issues in the country. So, if you want to gauge the social dynamics, know what is ‘going on at the grassroots’ or if you want to feel the pulse of the nation, attend the event. I can bet this year’s plays will be based on inter-ethnic conflict and reconciliation, corruption, tax evasion, environmental destruction and dispute over land, and disturbances that rocked schools last year, among other themes.

I have always argued the youth who were overt actors in the post-election violence are the same ones who possess the energies that can sow the seeds of peace and reconciliation.

Theatre is a powerful tool, when appropriately employed, for inducing behaviour change. The thematic diversity already seen in plays at the district and provincial levels indicate there is reason to believe the school system can still play its pedagogic role and produce a law abiding Kenyan.

Fourth, the recent history of the Kenya National Schools and Colleges Drama Festival shows there is a significant pool of playwrights who the existing theatre set-up ignores.

The question is: How come these budding (or even established dramatists) are not as productive beyond the festival?

Fifth, it is my conviction that some of the productions at these festivals are worth recording and distributing.

It is a collective loss that the scripts and performances may not be remembered after the finals. How about an annual publication of the best plays through collaboration between the Education and Heritage and National Culture ministries?

Lastly, this event brings together thousands of people in the education sector, ranging from the lowest level in the school system to senior most individuals in the ministry. If we were serious about initiating national reconciliation, wouldn’t this festival be among the places to start such a process?